Bus



' June 5, 1923 l ,457,840 A. E. .HU-FT Filed une a, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet l June 5, 1923, 1,457,840 A. E. HUTT l BUS Y Filed June 's 1'922 4' sheets-sheet 2 A. Ef HUTT June 5, 1923.

BUS

Filed June 8 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 nl l mis.

Patented .lune 5,

MBERT E. BUTT, F DETRGXT, MCHIGAN. f

.application ined June 8,

To all whom t may concern:

tain new and useful improvements in Busses,

'of which the following is a specification,

reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

i Thisinvent'ion relates to motor busses and especially to a means for partially enclosing the top deck of such busses.

The use of lautomobile motor busses 1n the larger cities of this country is becoming increasingly popular with the improvement in street pav- -ing.` The majority of busses at. present. in

vcommon use have an upper deck usually Hee be accommodate capable of seatinr as many passengers as can, 4 il 1n the lower Aportieri et the Ibus.

In fair weatherfand especially duringv the lsummer months, the upper deck is' consid ered more desirable than the interior of the bus because of the better view adorded to' passengers when seated at a greater height.

in chill or rainy weather it is usually disagreeab e to ride upon the upper deck be cause of the absence oi any protection from Wind or rain and the carrying capacity of theV bus is thereby substantially cut in halt` because the majority of passengers will not ride upon the upper deck and su'er the conseguent exposure. y l l he principal object o' my present inventiony is vto provide permanent, cor'tinuoud outer roof members over each `row of seats on 'the upper deck, there being a central aisle between said rows 011 seats, and each of saidv permanent roof sections 'extending Alaterally inwardly from the outer upper deck walls or' the vehicle and terminating about on a line 'with the inner ends of said seats, so that a longitudinal roof opening'or passageway, in vertical alignment, with the renter aisle and of about the same width as the latter, is afforded between the inner juxtaposed edges ,ofsaid permanent root sections, which latter iso , passengers, steed in means for-.the upuer deck standareofa height greater than the height of a seatedpassenger, and less than the average height of a stani'ling passenger, the edges o said roofsections being about breast high for an average passenger and affording ample ilr'i'rotecti-Onv for the' upper deck seated and convenient guiding or can, have invented cerieee. serial message?.

center upper aisle, the head ot the average upper deck passenger standing in the center aisle projecting above said roof sections.

A further object of the invention is to provide a protection for the seats oi' the upper deck which shall ermit ready access to any of the seats wit out materially increasing the height of the bus, because there are many places in cities beneath which there is very little more room than is necessary to permit Vthe passage of a bus when passengers are'seated upon vthe upper deck.

Inthe drawings,

Figure l is a perspective View of a preferred form of the invention showing the protecting covering in place;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the upper portion of the bus-as it appears from one side or the rear end, the point of view heilig a little way above 'the top of the bus;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section of the upper deck with 'the covering in place;

Fig. 4 is an enlargedsectional detail of a portion of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view taken at one edge of the top;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on the lline Vif-Vl of Fig. d; I l

Fi r. 8 is a horizontal section taken on the line Ill-VIII of Fig. 7, and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary elevation looking from the interior in the direction indicated bythe arrow IX in Fig. 7.

.Extending upward troni the rear plat- 'form 14 of the motor-bus illustrated in the drawingsis a rear stairway 2 having a hand rail 3. In the embodiment illustrated this stairway has it; upper end at the leits'ide o i the top. deck of the bus. The seats {hhavin-gback/s 5 ,are arranged along both sides of the upper deck, a space being left .between the adjacent ends of the seats to foii'i'i a center aisle vas shown in Figs. 3 and 7." Each seat usually accommodates t\vo passengers. The

viso

seat 4 downward to within four or five inches of the deck, the lower edge being se-` cured to a longitudinal bar 8 supported by brackets 9.

A cloth strip 10, the upper edge of which is secured beneath a'clcat 1l, extends downward from the lower edge of the sheathing 7- substantially to the deck ylevel to close the space beneath the lower edge of the sheathin 7.

support 12 preferably consisting of a metal tubehaving its ends flattened at 13 and 14 is Amounted at 'opposite ends of each seat, the end 13 being bolted to the bar 8 and the end 14 being bolted to the upper supports-is placed a roof fabric 22 of any suitable waterproof material.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent from Figures 2, 3 and 7, that the upper deck is provided with two laterally,

inwardly extending, permanent, continuous )of members, which extend from the front to the rear lof the bus and have a longitudi-v nal opening therebetween, which is in about vertical alignment withthe center aisle and about the same Width as the latter, said inwardly extending, permanent, continuous roof members being in practice about breast,

high to a passenger of average height so that his head when standing in the 'outer aisle projects above saiill roof sections, andthe standing upper deck passenger can steady himself from the lurching of the bus when in motion by grasping the edges of these roof sections with his hands as he walks Vin the upper center aisle towards the f ront or back ofthe bus.

It will thus be'seen that my novel upper deck structure comprises seats on opposite sides of a central upper deck aisle, permanent, continuons roof structures above said seats, but not above said aisle, having a longitudinal fore and aft opening and if desired suitable means can be employed for closing thevopenings under the roof structures constructed as aforesaid so as to exclude rain, snow, sleet and the like.

I have however found in practice, thatwith my invention of the permanent roof sections, whereln the longitudlnal central opening is provided in the upper deck, the

severest winds are only slightly felt by any of the passengers on the upper deck and that very little rain reaches any passengers and none at all those passengers that are occupyhaving the longitudinal central opening' therein. atfords protection to the seated upper deck passenger from the hot sun in summertime, without detracting from the Ventilating or open air feature, which is so desirable and the sides can be closed either4 separately or jointly at the will of the passengers and as their necessity and comfort dictate, and in addition the removal of the central,longitudinal porti'on of the upper deck effects a reduction in the weight of the bus, which isdesirable, as is evident.

A substantiallytriangular strip of-wo'od 23 is arranged along the inner edge of the roof fabric to prevent rain from tiowin off the aisle side of 'the roof. As shown in `ig. 2, a similar strip 24 forming an extension of one of the strips 23' is located at the end of the roof adjace to: the head of the stairway. -The outer edge of the roof fabric 22 has a downwardly extending iap 25 secured thereto preferably by aseam.

' At about theheight of the top of the backs 5 of the 'seats is a rail 26 which extends at substantially uniform. height almost completely around 'the top porti'onlof the bus.

As. .shown in`Fig..2 one end of the rail 26 1s suhstantlally a continuation of the hand rail 3 of 'the-i stairway- 2 which, as before stated, has its upper` end' at the left hand side of the 'bus From this rail 3, the rail 26 extends to the forward end of the bus, thence across the front,`back along the right hand 4side and across the rear of thel bus, curving at the corners and terminating adjacent ,to the right. hand side of thelanding at the top of the stairway. f

Between the rail 26 and 'the sheathing 7 is a protecting,r` metallic network shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

In fair Weather the parts thus far destrip 27 lea scribed constitute the protection for the upper portion of the deck but when additional protection is needed because of rain or cold lwinds, removable curtains may be secured to cover` the open spaces. The up er curtain member 28 consists of any suita le waterproof fabric such as imitation leather oroil cloth, preferably of the same material as that used for the roof. The upper edge of this curtain is secured by any suitable fas' tening means 30 such as the spring snap fasteners and studs commonly used for automobile curtains, beneath the flap 25 and thence it extends downward inside the rait l:ight side with a similar section on the left' network 2d and underneath the rail to the outsideof "the network strip 27 and the outside' of another curtain 29 Where it en ages 4other similar fastening lmeans to hol the lower edge securely in place. The curtain 29 is secured at its upper edge beneath the lower edgepf the curtain28 and its lower edge extends'downward beyond the lower edge or' the network 27 where it is secured by similar fasteners 30.

The curtains 28 and 29 may be 'made in sections of any suitable length but the most rnnvenient arrangement is believed to be that illustrated in Figs.,1 and 2 in which he curtain 28y extends from a front central window 31 along the entire length of the top ai the bus and around the corner to the rear.

The curtain on the left hand side extends from the window 3 1 the entire length of the s lett hand sidevto the back of the last seat en the left side of the top deck. A curtain 32 extends across. the entire width of the war seat on the left hand side from the roof c'lthe top of the seat back '5. lllfithin the #per curtain 28 are secured a series of panels 33 of cellulold, glass, or other trans parent material. Aswshown in Fig. 1, the curtain 29 has a section ll'extending across the front of thel bus top and a side section 1'eterniing' from the section 34 thefull length et' the bus and around the rea end on the .iside extending from the front section for the lull length ofthe left side to the end of the panel 27,.,adj acent to the head of the stairway. l

-When the curtains are secured in place, the sides, front andrear of the top of the has are substantially completely enclosed with the exception of the space leading from the-landing at the head of the stairway to the aisle between the seats and this protection will be entirely suicient in the absence of rain or snow, but' as an `additional `protection, curtains 35 may be provided as illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 to extend from the edge of the roof on the side next to the aisle, downward between the' supports 12, channels 36 being secured upon the supports to guide the edges of the curtains and to prevent the rain from beating in at the edges. A spring roller 37 is provided for each curtain 35 and a hood 38 is arranged adjacent to the strip 23 as a protection for the roller and for thejoint between the curtain and the Aedge of the roof.v The channels may obviwhich take the place of the sheathing'?l and the network" strip 427. ln had weather the sashcs 39 may be elevated into the position shown in Fig. 9 to close the opening between the top of the panel 4t2 and the vroof 22.

The roof 22 will be very little higher from the upper deck of the bus than the heads of the passengers so that the additional height added to the bus by this construction will not interfere with its use under elevated roads, viaducts, bridges and other struc,

tures extending across the roadway where such busses operate. When a passenger stands erect in the aisle between the seats, his head will beabove the tcp of the roof, but when seated there will be plenty ot head room beneath the rotecting top. A dicordi` may be placed in t e aisle to assist in closing the top.

It will be apparent that there is provided a device 'of the characterdescribed, possesslng thelparticular features of advantage enumerated as desirable, but which obviously is susceptible of` modiiication in form, proportio'n,.f`details o construction and arrangement df `parts without departure from the principle 'involved or sacrificing any of its advantages. t is therefore to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details shown but that the means and construction `herein disclosed are merely illustrative and the invention is therefore 'claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims.

1. 'In a device of the character stated, a passenger vcarrying vehicle, having an upper deck provided with seats at opposite sides thereof, separated by a central aisle and laterally'extending permanent, continuous u er deck roof sections rejecting inward? rom the outer upper eck walls over said seats,-andV provided with a longitudinal opening in vertical alignment with and er' about the same width as said central aisle extend ing from the front'to the rear of said roof sections, the height of said roof sections from the upper deck Hoor being greater than the height of the seated passenger and less than the height of the average standing passenger, so that the head of the latter projects above said roof sections when standing in said central aisle.

2. In a passenger carrying vehicle, an upper deck, provided with transversal arranged seats at opposite sidesthereo separated by a central aisle, laterally lextending permanent continuous roof sections above outer upper deck walls, and provided with a central longitudinal opening-extending from the front to the rear of said roof sections, the height of said roof sections from the upper deck iioor being greater than the height of the seated passengers and less than the height oi.c the averageI passenger standing said4 seats and projecting inwardly from the in said center aisle, so that the head of the Y. latter projects above said roof sections when standing, and ymovable curtains arranged at the ends of said seats adjacent to said central aisle.

. 3. In a passenger carrying vehicle, provided with a central aisle aiid an upper 'deck with seats upon said deck arranged trans; 'versely on opposite sides'of said central aisle, means for protecting said seats, comprising permanent continuous roof` structures einvr tending from the outer Walls of said upper.'

deck-over said seats only, the height of said roof sections from the upper deck .Hoor being greater than tlie height ofvthe seated passengers and less than the height of the aver' age passenger standing in said central'aisle and having their juxtaposed inner yedges sep-v arated by a central longitudinal passage extending from the front to the rear of said vehicle, in vertical alignment with said cene tral aisle and of substantially thesaine width as the latter, suitable closures between tops of Walls and outer edges o the roof sections, upright supports for the inner edges of said permanent, continuous roof sections, and

movable curtains arrangedl at the ends of said seats adjacent to saidcentral aisle.

4. In a passenger carrying vehicle, an up- 'y deck walls.

per deck having a central aisle, and permanent,lcontinu'ous upper deck roof sections, extending laterally inwardly from the outer upper deck Walls, and fixedly secured there'- to,"tlie"inner juxtaposed edges of said continu'ous,'permanent roof sections being separated by a central longitudinal opening ex- 'tending from the front to the rear of the Avehicle in alignment with said central aisle -,and of substantially'tlie same4 Width as the latter, 'tllie height of said roof sections from tlie upperdeck fioor, being greater than the :height oftlie'seated passengers and less than v the height ofthe average passenger standing iiivv said central aisle and a row of transverse seats lpositioned on each side of said central aisle under 'each ofsaidpermanent, continuvousfupper deck ,roof sections, the inboard endsvof'said seats terminating in proximity lto said aisle', and the outboard ends terininating'inproiiiinity to said outer upper 

